After beginning the first part of the Arena Football League regular season with an 0-9 record, the last thing most people expected from the Utah Blaze (6-11) was a shot at the playoffs.

But after finishing the year winning six of their last seven games, that was exactly the position the Blaze found itself in Saturday afternoon at EnergySolutions Arena. With a nearly identical Colorado Crush (7-10) facing them on the other side of the ball, the Blaze had one last chance to prove its postseason worth.

But midnight came early to the Cinderella Blaze, who fell to the Crush in a close 49-44 defeat in the AFL's Wildcard Playoff game.

"We kept playing, even when we were down," Colorado coach Mike Dailey said. "We didn't give up on ourselves, but we got back into the game."

Blaze quarterback Joe Germaine completed 23-of-36 passes for 252 yards, while the Crush's John Dutton was 30-of-47 for 268 yards. On the receiving end, J.J. McKelvey shined for Utah in the loss, racking up 105 yards and three touchdowns.

But it was more of the same for the Blaze, who let a narrow 24-21 lead at halftime slowly slip away from them through a series of mistakes during the second half.

"The third quarter has haunted us all year," Blaze coach Danny White said, "and it hurt us again tonight."

The first half started out smooth, when wide receiver Aaron Boone picked up a 13-yard pass to give Utah the first touchdown only three minutes into the game. Not to be outdone, McKelvey connected with Germaine for a second touchdown on the next drive before ending the first quarter with a 14-7 lead.

After fighting into the end zone on the backs of Robert Thomas and Wendell Williams, the Crush was ready to claw back into the game at the half.

Colorado came out of the locker room with blood on its mind and scored quickly. Dutton connected with wide receiver Willie Quinnie and linebacker Chris Watton on the first possession of the third quarter to propel the Crush into their first lead of the game, 28-24. From there, Utah rebounedd with scores from McKelvey and receiver Huey Whittaker, but the Colorado offense outlasted the Blaze.

Despite the loss, players on the team feel they accomplished more than enough this season. Few analysts would have put the Blaze in this situation.

"It was an unbelievable season to come back from 0-9 and find a way to fight back when so many people counted us out," Boone said. "Who comes back from that? Most teams fold up the tent by then, and that's the end of the year. But we put together a pretty remarkable comeback, but just didn't come to play today."

Team chemistry played a large factor in this year's team turnaround, Germaine said.

"When I look back on this season, I feel that, with the character this team played with, I wouldn't want to play with any other team," Germaine said. "I wouldn't care if that team were 16-0. These were guys you would want to walk with down a dark alley, or guys you'd go to battle for. I'm proud of this team."

McKelvey echoed those sentiments, making a plea for next year.

"I hope to have everyone back next year," McKelvey said. "I can't say if we will right now, but I hope so."



Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Jun 2008